But he adds “the most important thing is that we order our board according to what we want and how we’ve evaluated and then watch how the thing plays out.”

Austin says “we definitely have somebody that we would like,” but cautions they don’t know when that player is going to be taken.

“If he’s sitting there at 9, I’m going to be a very, very happy guy,” Austin said with a smile.

After holding the first overall selection in the 2013 CFL draft, which turned out to be University of Calgary defensive tackle Linden Gaydosh who is now in the NFL, Hamilton’s first pick this year is 9th overall.

Even so, Austin says their preparation, evaluation and how the team is ranking the draft eligible players hasn’t changed from what they did last year.

He says the only difference from 2013 is that “we didn’t get as many phone calls this year as we did last year,” referring to the trade offers the club received for the top pick in ’13.

Austin would not offer any information as to whether he has spoken to other CFL general managers about the possibility of moving up in the draft.

The expansion Ottawa RedBlacks hold the number one pick, followed by Winnipeg, Edmonton, Montreal, B.C., toronto, Calgary and Saskatchewan.

The Ticats and Roughriders swapped picks in a February trade that sent kicker Josh Bartel and defensive end Shomari Williams to Regina.

In addition to the 9th overall draft pick this year, the Tiger-Cats also received Saskatchewan’s 11th overall pick.

The Cats also hold the 17th overall selection, but are then not slated to pick until the fifth round, 44th overall.

Hamilton’s other selections are 53rd and 54th overall, in the 6th round, and 62nd overall, which is in the 7th and final round of the draft.

Austin admits this year’s draft is not as deep as last year’s but thinks “there’s enough talent for teams to improve.”

One reason for that is because Canadians playing in the NCAA are now allowed to be drafted only after completing their senior year, eliminating the possibility of players returning to college after being selected.

Austin says he likes his team’s current crop of Canadians, saying “we’re pretty deep… and we don’t need a big draft” to improve the club’s contingent of Canucks.

The final ranking from the CFL scouting bureau ranks McGill offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif as the top prospect, followed by Montreal offensive lineman David Foucault and Laval o-lineman Pierre Lavertu.